Members of the National Association of Polytechnic Students are against the removal of Pharmaceutical Technology from the list of Higher National Diploma programs in Nigeria.
They criticized the agreement between the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and the National Board of Technical Education, which was approved by the Federal Government through a memorandum of understanding to accredit and train only National Diploma Pharmacy Technicians.
NBTE and PCN signed this MOU on April 17, at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Education in Kaduna, which was chaired by the Minister of State for Education, Tanko Sununu, and other directors in the ministry, after they resolved the 22-year-old issue on pharmaceutical technologists training.
In a statement released by the Coordinator of the National Association of Polytechnic Students, South West Zone, Monday Obasanya, on Wednesday, the association criticized this action.
Obasanya expressed concern about the future job prospects of graduates of this course in the labor market, following its dis-accreditation by relevant bodies. He called for a reversal of this decision.
“The dis-accreditation of the course has not only left thousands of students and graduates in a state of uncertainty but also raised questions about their employability and prospects. We are worried that the graduates of this course, who have invested significant time and resources in their education, may be denied opportunities in the labor market due to the perceived invalidation of their qualifications.
“We fear that this decision will lead to a waste of human resources, as many of these graduates may be forced to abandon their chosen career paths and seek alternative fields, leading to brain drain and loss of expertise in the healthcare sector. This is unacceptable and has far-reaching implications for the country’s development.
“We demand that the Federal Ministry of Education, NBTE, and PCN take immediate action to address the concerns of the affected students and graduates. We call for a reversal of the dis-accreditation decision and validation of the Pharmaceutical Technology course in polytechnics,” Obasanya said.
He added that prospective employers in the health sector should not underestimate the qualifications of graduates from this field, and provide available opportunities to them.
Speaking with our correspondent, a student, Omolola Omon said she was disheartened when she heard the news.
She said, “Segregation has been in existence for a long time, students who want to apply for direct entry are being turned down just because they studied pharmaceutical technology in polytechnic.
“My colleagues are bothered and confused about their fate after graduation. If the medical sector cannot accept them, what is now the essence of going for the program.”
Sunday Oguntola, a recent graduate of Pharmaceutical Technology said he is displeased with the unjust dis-accreditation by both parties, as he described it as an inconsiderate decision with no weighty reason.
“This is not only unfair but cruel and we see the government making a serious effort to make education unreachable for the general public. This problem has also worried current students on campus who have been offered that course and also graduates of this discipline.
“We want to give President Bola Tinubu a 48-hour deadline to urge his Minister of Education to not make our certificate useless, or else we will take to the streets to communicate with them in the only way they understand. We will not allow five years of our journey to be wasted,” Oguntola said.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the NBTE, Fatima Abubakar, in a text, promised to get back to our correspondent but did not respond by the time of filing this report.
“Please bear with me, I want to get the information from the source. I will get back to you,” Abubakar said.
